First commercial data center on federal land loses approval
The Interior Board of Land Appeals vacated federal approval for the proposed Townsite Data Center outside Boulder City and sent the application back to the Bureau of Land Management for additional environmental review. Boulder City and environmental groups challenged the approval, citing inadequate analysis of impacts including habitat loss, water use, noise and air pollution.
The Interior Board of Land Appeals removed the Bureau of Land Management’s approval for the proposed Townsite Data Center on 88.5 acres of federal land outside Boulder City, Nevada. The board also halted construction and returned the application to the BLM, which is reassessing the project’s environmental impacts after relying on a review originally prepared for a solar development.
Townsite Solar 2 LLC, which originally planned a solar project on the site, estimates the data center would generate $1.3 billion in tax revenue over 20 years and create 3,131 jobs. Boulder City and environmental groups, including the Center for Biological Diversity, challenged the federal approval, arguing that the review failed to address data-center-specific effects such as water consumption, noise, air pollution, nighttime lighting, cultural resources and habitat loss affecting the Mojave Desert tortoise.
Boulder City communications manager Lisa LaPlante said the city supports the board’s decision and wants meaningful public involvement in any future approval process. Patrick Donnelly of the Center for Biological Diversity called data centers a potentially harmful new use of public lands and said the group may consider further legal action if the BLM approves the project again.